Healthcare acquired infections (HAI) are infectious diseases contracted by patients confined in a hospital or other healthcare facility, and acquire a disease that is not associated with their original medical problem. These infectious diseases are caused by microbes such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, parasites, spore forms thereof, and the like. Approximately two million people each year become sick in healthcare facilities from HAI. It is also among the top five leading causes of death in the United States (US). Such infections strike an average of 4.5 out of every 100 patients admitted to hospitals, and result in an average of 22 additional days of hospitalization. Total costs from HAI are estimated at between US$35 to US$88 billion annually, thus representing an increasing financial burden and declining healthcare quality in the US.
Proper hand hygiene and use of hospital or medical gloves have prevented even higher incidences of HAI. Such measures, particularly medical gloves, have helped prevent contamination between caregivers and patients. They provide a physical barrier for contact between the caregiver and the patient. However, it is estimated that only 50% of healthcare professionals adhere to proper hand hygiene and medical glove use. Often, the physical barrier provided by the medical gloves is compromised when the exterior of the medical gloves (i.e., side that contacts the patient) becomes contaminated. Such contamination can occur during donning of the medical gloves, retrieval of the medical gloves from their packaging, or even while in the packaging. Unfortunately, such improper attention to hand hygiene and medical glove use has become the most common mode of transmission of infectious diseases to patients.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to develop a packaging for medical gloves designed to provide innovative layers of protection for minimizing or eliminating risks of contamination of the medical gloves during donning. There is a need to develop a packaging for medical gloves that provides enhanced protection for patients from HAI in a practical, efficient and cost effective manner. There is a need to develop a packaging for medical gloves that enables the user to don the medical gloves on both hands without outside assistance.